Someone once asked Albert Einstein how many feet were in a mile. 'I
don't know,' he replied, 'Why should I fill my head with things like that
when I could look them up in any reference book in two minutes?'

Water Glossary

We live on the only BLUE planet of the universe,
yet we seem to forget how precious to our lives and the life of all living
beings is the waterthat makes the planet blue. 'Click'
on any of the following letters to access an alphabetical section of the
Water Glossary:

75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. This is also true for
half the world population.

In 37% of North Americans, the thirst trigger is so weak that it
is often mistaken for hunger.

Even MILD dehydration will slow down a person metabolism as much
as 3%.

One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for
almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington
study, which is a great thing to keep in mind especially if you're
on a diet.

Lack of water is the first cause of daytime
fatigue.

Drinking 8-10
glasses of water per day could significantly ease back
and joint pain.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory,
trouble with basic math, and difficulty
focusing on the computer screen or even on a printed page.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer
by 45%, can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and a person is
also 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

"We live on the blue planet
with more than 70% of the Earth's surface covered by water. Yet more
than 1 billion people still lack safe, clean drinking water and another
two billion lack adequate treatment for wastewater. With global water wars
looming, clues from the ocean indicate that we are on the verge of a significant
change in climate.

Warmer temperatures
are causing increased melting of ice at the poles, altering the movement
of warm ocean currents. How will changing climate and diminishing freshwater
supplies alter human survival, global tensions, and the natural landscape?
How will it affect us, living beside 20% of the world’s freshwater?"

Earth is the only planet in the solar system with abundant liquid water
on its surface. Water has chemical and physical properties not matched by
any other substance, and it is essential for life on Earth. Water has a
great ability to absorb heat. The oceans store much of the heat Earth gets
from the sun. The electrical charges on water molecules give water a great
ability to attract atoms from other substances. This quality allows water
to dissolve many things. Water's ability to dissolve materials makes
it a powerful agent in breaking down rocks. Liquid water on Earth affects
not just the surface but the interior as well. Water in rocks lowers the
melting temperature of rock. Water dramatically weakens rocks and makes
them easier to melt beneath Earth's surface.

About 71 percent of Earth's surface is covered by water,
most of it in the oceans. Ocean water is too salty to drink. Only about
3 percent of Earth's water is fresh water, suitable for drinking. Much
of Earth's fresh water is not readily available to people because it
is frozen in the polar ice caps or beneath Earth's surface. Polar regions
and high mountains stay cold enough for water to remain permanently frozen.

The region of permanent ice on Earth is sometimes called the cryosphere.
Ocean waters cover most of Earth's surface. This satellite view shows
the Indian Ocean, partly bordered by Africa, Asia, and Australia, and below
it the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. Reference and image credit:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE/SeaWiFS Project